Machine for wrapping articles



March 31, 1942. A. VANVEEN MACHINE FOR WRAPPNG ARTICLES Filed April 4, 1959 10 Sheets-Sheet 1 @NY Bl :inventor ANTON I/AN VEEN (Ittorneg n@ @N f arch 31, 1942. A, VAN VEEN MACHINE FOR WRAPPING ARTICLES Filed April 4, 1939 10 Sheets-Sheet 2 :Snventor Ci ktorueg arch 3l, 1942.

A. VAN VEEN MACHINE FOR WRAPPING ARTICLES Filed April 4, 1939 10 Sheets-Sheet 5 Gttorneg March 31, 1942. A. VAN VEEN MACHINE FOR WRAPPING ARTICLES Filed April 4, 1959 lO SheetS-Sheell 4 March 31, 1942. A. VAN VEEN 2,278,005

MACHINE FOR WRAPPNG ARTICLES Y Filed April 4, 195s 1o sheets-sheet e :inventor /7/v 'Tb/v Vfl/v VEEN.

March 31, 1942. A. VAN VEEN MACHINE FOR WRAPPING ARTICLES Filed April 4, 1939 l0 Sheets-Sheet 7 :inventor /vTo/v V/M/ VEEN.

Gttomeg March 3l, i942 A. VAN VEEN MACHINE FOR WRAPP/I/G ARTICLES Filed April 4, 1959 10 Sheets-Sheet 8 Bnventor //v TON Mew VEEN.

Gttomeg N E E V N A V A.

MACHINE FOR WRAPPING ARTICLES 1o sheets-Sheet 9 Filed April 4, 1939 ANTON M4N VEEN March 3i, 1942. A. VAN VEEN MACHINE FOR WRAPPING ARTICLES Filed April 4, 1939 10 Sheets-Sheet l0 Bnvntor //v :ro/v VAN VEEN.

Gttomeg Patented Mar. 31, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT oFEIcE 14 Claims.

This invention relates to a novel machine and method for wrapping articles and, particularly, varticles of confectionery such as lollipops.

An object of my invention is to provide an' automatic machine which can be adjusted for wrapping articles of various shapes and sizes without requiring any further operation on the part of the operator than to place the articles on the machine.

A further object is to provide in such a machine, a novel method of wrapping articles by means of the motion which is applied to said articles while passing through the machine.

A further object of my invention is to provide a, machine for wrapping lollipops in Cellophane wrappers and twisting said wrappers under heat to retain them in proper position on the article.

Further objects will be clearly understood from the following description and from the drawings in which:

Figures 1 and 2 are perspective Views illustrating my novel machine as viewed from opposite sides thereof.

Figure 3 is a plan view, of said machine, on an enlarged scale and with parts broken away to vshow the construction thereof.

Figure 4 is a front view of the same, in central vertical section, on a further enlarged scale and on line 4 4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a View in central vertical section and on line 5 5 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic plan view of the f relative operation of the diiierent mechanisms in the machine. i

Figure 7 is a similar view illustrating the said mechanism in different positions.

Figure 8 is an enlarged fragmentary view, illustrating the construction of the turret mechanism and the clamp releasing means associated therewith.

Figure 9 is a plan view in central horizontal section and through the web feeding rolls of my improved machine.

Figure 10 is an end view of the clutch member for said rolls on line Ill-I0 of Figure 9.

Figure 11 is anend view, on line lI-v-II of Figure 9, of another clutch member used with said rolls. v

Figure 12 is a fragmentary view, of a portion of the machine, illustrating the said feed rolls in combination with the conveyor and cutter mechanisms of my improved machine.

Figure 13 is a fragmentary side view, in vertical section, illustrating the ejector mechanism.

A be hereinafter described.

mounted upon said track at the opposite side ofl the conveyor belt' for guiding the articles as'they I Figure 14 is a side view of the same in elevation.

Figure 15 is a sectional view, through a portion of my machine, illustrating the twister mechanism of my improved machine.

Figure 16 is a side view, of said twister mechanism, in central Vertical section.

Figure 17 is a perspective view illustrating the novel wrapper folding device used in my machine.

different positions of a wrapper as it is applied to a lollipop while passing through my improved machine.

Figures 22 and 23 are views illustrating two steps in the operation of folding said wrappers as performed by the folding shoe of my improved machine.

Figures 24, 25, `26 and 27 are fragmentary views, in vertical section, illustrating diiferent steps in the operation of the mechanism of my machine while wrapping a lollipop.

Figure 28 kis a plan view, of the novel folding device, showing one step of the wrapping operation which is performed thereby.

Figure 29 is a front view of the said folding device.

As illustrated in the drawings, my improved wrapping machine comprises a base which is built in the form of a casing, that is mounted on legs 6 and contains the various parts of the mechanism that will be hereinafter described in accordance with the sequence of operation of the various units incorporated in the machine.

As clearlyillustrated, in Figure 1 of the drawings, my machine includes a conveyor belt 1 which is composed of a number of receptacle plates 8 secured to an endless chain 9 that extends over a sprocket I0, which is supported in a bracket Ill-a, and a sprocket Il. The said conveyor belt moves across the table l2 on a track |2-a and is positioned horizontally by guides l2-b which, with the said tracks, are mounted upon the top of the base 5 of the majacent to said conveyor belt to position thereon the articles that are to be wrapped as will A guide IZ- is are removed from said belt. The said guide comprises a U-shaped member which depends from the supporting bar I2-e which is mounted upon a bar IZ-f that forms a wall for locating the articles on the plates 8 of the said conveyor belt.

Figures 18, 19, 20 and 21 are views illustrating chine. A positioning bar I 2-c is mounted ad-v .pinion I5 on the operating shaft I8 which is intermittently-rotated for each wrapping operation of mymachine.

A turret I1 is provided for carrying the articles, which are being wrapped, to positions in' the machine where the different operations are performed.

The said turret comprises a plate I8 which is rotatably mounted in a turret carriage I9, by

'means of a shaft 28 which extends vertically through the said carriage. A beveled gear 2| is secured to .said shaft andv meshes with a bev.-

-eled gear 22 that is mounted in said carriage by means of a roller bearing 23. The said gear 22 has a connecting pin 24 which extends through a slot 25, in an enlarged portion 28 of the shaft I8, and provides a sliding connection for causing said shaft to rotate the gear and permit it to travel with the carriage I9. The carriage I9 is supported on grooved wheels 21 which roll on a track composed of bars 28 which are mounted on supporting beams 29, that extend to opposite sides of the base 5, are secured thereto by means of hangers 29-a, and are spaced from said beams to accommodate the flanges 38, on the wheels 21. Retaining plates 3l are secured on the beams 29 to retain the said wheels, and

carriage, upon the track bars 28.

It will be noted, particularly from Figure of the drawings, that the shaft I8 extends through an opening 32, in the beveled gear 22, and is spaced from the walls of said openings to permit free longitudinal movement of the carriage I9 over the said shaft. A shield, in the form of a tube 33, is threaded to a plate 34 which is secured to said carriage by means of screws. The said shield surrounds the shaft I8 and is provided for the purpose of preventing'any fragments, of the material of the articles being wrapped in the machine, vfrom dropping into the slot and, thereby, interferring with the movement of the pin 2l in said slot.

The shaft I8 is operated by means of a Geneva movement which includes a Geneva wheel 35 that is mounted to the end of said shaft and driven by a driving wheel 38 on the shaft 31 winch extends 'through the bearing 38, in the 39 thereon whichmeshes with a beveled gear 48 on a driving shaft 4I that extends across the l said base 5 andis rotatably mounted therein.

Y A sprocket 42 is rotatably mounted onsaid shaft 4I and is adapted to be engaged by a clutch collar 43 which is slidably keyed to said shaft and has a projection 44 that is adapted to be moved into engagement with a notch 45 in the hub of the said sprocket 42. The said collar 43 is operated by means of pins 43-a which project into the groove 43-b, in the said collar, from rocker levers 43-c which are 4mounted on a rocker shaft 44a that extends through the v base 5 of the machine and is actuated, to operate 4saidclutch, by either of the handles V44--b or` of a link 58 and a roller 5I projects from lsaid "base-5. The said shaft 31 has a ,beveled -gear 'V lever into a cam groove 52 in one side of the lcam wheel 45.

areretained'upon said track by means of the re-l taining plates59.

A rocker lever 58 is mounted on and connected to rotate with Ia rocker shaft 88-a by means of a hb 8|. The swinging end of said lever vis connected to the pusher carriage 58 by means of a link 52. A rocking lever 83 is also connected to the said rocker shaft 58-a and operated by a link 84 which is connected to a lever 85. The said lever is pivotally mounted on the pivot shaft 49 and has a roller 88 projecting into a cam groove 81 in the side of the cam wheel 48 opposite to the side thereof which contains the cam groove 52.

A wrapper folding device is mounted upon a plate 88 which is supported on upright members 89 that are adjustably secured, by means of screws 18, to the sides of the track supporting bars 29. The said device comprises a horn 1I which tapers from the mouth portion 12 towards the end 13. The edge of the mouth is shaped to fold the sides of the wrapper towards the center of the horn as will be hereinafter described. Y

A shoe 14 is mounted upon a supporting bar 15 and extends inwardly into the horn 1I. The said shoe has wrapper folding edges 18 and 11 and the supporting bar 15 is adjustably positioned, by means of the bolts 18 on the threaded posts 19, so that the shoe 14 may be adjusted with relation to the interior of the horn 1I to properly fold the wrapper during the operation vwhich will be later described. The said horn 1I is secured to the plate 58 by means of nuts 80 wshich are threaded to the lower part of the posts The mechanism for feeding the wrappers to the machine will now be described.

As clearly illustrated in Figures 9 to 12 of the drawings, the said mechanism is mounted upon a vertical post 8l, which extends upwardly from the base 5 of the machin and comprises a roller supporting frame 82. The said frame is adjustably secured to the post 8l by means of clamp connection 83 and positioned, upon the base 5 Vof the machine,by means of a threaded post 84 which extends through a boss 85. Nuts 84-4 are threaded to said post 84 to engage the top d and bottom surfaces of the frame for securely clamping the same in the position relative to the length of the wrapper blank desired. This will be better understood from further description which will be given herein.

The' frame 82 has extensions 85 between which are mounted web feeding rolls. One of said rolls Aconsists of a pair of flexible roll sections 81 that are adjustably mounted, on a sleeve 88, by means y of collars 81a which are provided with adjusting screws 81-1) for adjustably securing the said flexible rolls to the sleeve 88. The said sleeve is rotatablymounted on the stationary shaft 89 which, in turn, is mounted in, and between, the extensions by means of eccentric collars 98 which are secured in alignment, to the ends of said shafts by means of pins 55-a. The said collars are adjustably rotatable in said extensions 85 and secured against rotation therein by set screws 85b. A gear 9| is also mounted upon the sleeve 88 and secured thereto, by meansv of a screw 9|a, for rotating the same.

The collars 90 are provided with handles 90-17,

for rotating them when they are to be adjusted The other feed :roll 92 is secured toa shaft 93, by means of a pin 94, and is provided with gear teeth 95 which mesh with the teeth of the bracket |29 to retain-'the-:roll of. the web-|2'| thereon, and a brake, inuthe form of -a strap gear 9| for rotating the rolls 91 with the said v roll 92.

A one-way clutch is provided for intermittently rotating the said shaft 93 to feed a deslred length of web for each operation thereof. The said clutch includes a collar 93 which is rotatably mounted to one end of the shaft 93 and against the end of the frame 82- through which the said shaft extends. The said collar is provided with teeth 91, which mesh with the A web ronieiampmg device |z1 whie1ii sfnqt described 'in detail herein; is mounted in the |23 lsanchored to the bracketl |22. The said strap depends downwardly from the bracket and ishld into engagement with the periphery of the roll |2|. by means of `,a weight |29 which is secured to the lower end of said strap, t9

teeth of a rack 99 that is actuated by means of a crank 98-a which rotates with the driving shaft 4|. The said rack is adjustably connected to the crank 98-a, by an adjustable pivot 93-b,

to vary the length of the stroke of said. rack,'.in

driving the feed rolls 31 and 92, so as to feed the desired length of the web |26 for the different sizes of articles whichcan be the machine.

The collar 96 is provided with a flange 99 which has a plurality of notches |00, the bottoms of which are formed to provide cam surfaces A clutch d isc |02 is secured to the end of the shaft 92, by means of a screw |03. The said clutch disc has a wall |04 which extends over the flange 99, of the collar 96, and a bushing |05 is secured to the said wall by means of screws |06 extending through said wall and threaded into a flange |01 on said bushing; thus is formed a housing within which the collar 96 is rotatably mounted on the end of the shaft 93. The bushing |05 is rotatably mounted on the collar 96 and the flange 99 thereof is disposed With its peripheral edge adjacent to the inner surface of the annular wall |04. Clutch rollers |08 are contained within the notches |00 and-forced, by means of springs |09, between the inner surface of the wall |04 and the cam surfaces |0|. When the collar 96 is rotated by the rack 99, in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 10 of the drawings, the said rollers will bind the collar to the clutch disc |02 and thereby cause rotation of the shaft 93 which will operate the feed rolls 81 and 92.

A holder I0 is rotatably mounted on the bushing |05 and has rollers which engage the rack 98 to hold the same with the teeth thereof into engagement with the teeth 91 on the collar 96.

A retaining clutch is provided, at the other end of the shaft 93, in order to hold the said wrapped in -shaft against rotation when the collar 95 is being rotated in a reverse direction by the rack 98. The said retaining clutch consists of a cam disc ||2 which is mounted over a shaft 93 and secured, against rotation, by means of a pin 3 extending into the frame 82. The disc is provided with a notch ||4, having a cam surface ||5, in which is contained a clutch roller ||6 that is forced against said cam surface and, thereby, into radial engagement with the inner wall of a flange |1 on a disc ||3 that is secured to the end of the shaft 93 by means of a pin ||9.

A bracket is also adjustably mounted upon the post 0|, to support a web roll 2| Another bracket |22 is secured to the top of said post Bland has, mounted therein, parallel slide rods |23 between which is disposed an idler web roll 75 prevent free rotation of; the web roll when a sudden pull is exerted upon the end of the web |25 and there is a tendency to unwind the said roll. The roll |24 will act to cushion the pull on said roll |2| by sliding vertically between the parallel rods |23 against the pull from the springs |25.l

My machine isprovided witha web shearing device. which includes a stationary cutting blade |30 that is mounted to the bottom of the frame 92 and is secured to the extensions 96, by means of bolts |3|. The said blade has cutting edges on two sides thereof so that it may be reversed when it is desired to present a new cutting edge in operative position.

A movable cutting blade |32 is mounted on a rocker bar |33 which is pivoted, as at |34, within the slot in the head |35 at the top of the vertically adjustable post |36. The said post is mounted in a sleeve |31 and is held against rotation therein by means of a key |30 which is secured by a screw to a flange |39 on said sleeve. A set screw |40 also extends through said collar for locking said post in position within the sleeve |31.

The movable blade 32 is forced in an upward direction, and into` cutting engagement with the blade |30, by means of the spring |4| which is located within the rocker bar |33 and between the said blade |32 and the bottom of the slot |35. rocker'bar for limiting the movement which is applied thereto by the said spring |4I.

The sleeve |31 is rotatably mounted -within a bearing |43, in the base 5 of the machine, and is vertically supported therein by the flange |39 which rests upon the top of the said base.

A lever |44 is secured tothe lower end of the said sleeve |31 and a connecting link |45 -extends from the end of said lever to the lever |46 which is mounted in the bearing |41 by means of a pivot stud |48 that ls secured in said bearing by a set screw |49. The said lever |45 is provided with an extension |50 to the end of which is mounted a roller 5| which is held in engagement with 'a cam |52, on the driving shaft 4|, by means of a spring |53.

It will be noted that the' said post |36 may be adjusted, vertically, to place the blade |32 in operative'position with relation to the stationary blade .|30 and in whatever position the said stationary blade may occupy on account of the position of the frame 32 on the post 0|.

The turret plate I3 is provided with a plurality of article receiving recesses |54 which are secured to said plates by means of screws |56 and extend across the topvof said recesses. Each of said clamping plates has a threaded post |51 whichis mounted in the plate I9 and extends through the plate. A spring |58 is adjustably secured on said post by means of a nut |59 for forcing said clamping plate downwardly on the A set screw |42 is provided in the saidA plate |8 to clamp articles within the recesses |54;

A clamp releasing pin |60 is provided under the end of each of said clamping plates. The said pin is mounted in a recess in said plate and has a projection extending through the bottom of the plate. An adjustable releasing screw |6| projects 'upwardly from a plate |62 that extends towards the turret, from the top of the base 5, and positions said screw to engage and lift the pins |60 so as to raise the clamping plates |55 against the tension of the spring |58. The said pins |60 are also operated, to raise the clamping plates |55, by a set screw |60-a in the end of a lever |60-b that is pivoted by a rocker shaft mounted in a bracket |6|a which is supported on and secured to one of the retaining plates 3|, by means of bolts |6|b. A lever |62-a is connected to the said rocker shaft, extends downwardly therefrom and has a roller |62-b in the end thereof which is adapted to-\be engaged by a cam |63-a'that is secured to the periphery of the cam wheel 46. The said cam is adapted to rock the lever |60-b, through the said lever |62-a, against the tension of a spring |63-b and thereby cause the set. screw |60-a to raise the clamping plates |55. The turret plate I8 is provided with slots |63 which extend radially therein and through the bottom of each of the recesses |54.

In order to eject articles from the said turret, I provide an ejector mechanism which comprises an endless chain |64 that is carried on a sprocket |65, which is mounted on a shaft |66, and `an idler sprocket`f|61 which is rotatably mounted in the plate |62. The said chain |64 carries thereon a plurality of ejector fingers |68 which pass through the slots |63, in the turret plate |8, and through a slot |69 in the table |10, which is mounted on said plate and is inclined downwardly over the side of the base 5. The shaft |66 extends through the side of the lbase 5 and has connected thereto a driving sprocket |1| which is driven by means of a chain |12 that is driven by a sprocket |13 on the shaft 31.

My machine is also provided with a twister mechanism for twisting the wrapper on the article to securely retain said wrapper thereon.

The said twister mechanism comprises a pair of twisting bars |14 that are mounted, by means of yieldable fingers |15, to rocker bars |16 whereby they are pivoted in the head |11 of a rotatable sleeve |18. The said bars |16 are rotatably mounted in the openings |19 which vextend through said head and intersect, at opposite sides thereof, an opening |80 which extends lonf gitudinally through the sleeve |18.

A slide bar |8| is slidably mounted in said opening lso, with the ena thereof between the said rocker bars |16, and has teeth |82 on opposite sides thereof, which mesh with teeth |83 on the bars |16, for operating the said bars to rockthe same and thereby operate the twister bars |14. The said slide bar |8| is connected to rotate with the sleeve |18 by means -of a pin |84 which extends into a slot |85 from a screw |86 which also connects a pinion |81 to said sleeve The pinion |81 is rotated` Geneva wheel |85 which is co-axially secured thereto by means of screws |88.

A Geneva driving wheel |81 is rotatably mounted on a stud |82, which extends from a boss |88, and has a flange 280 with peripheral surfaces 28| that are adapted to inter-engage corresponding notches 202 in the periphery of the Geneva wheel |95 to retain the same in stationary position between the intermittent rotations thereof. The said driving wheel has two arms |91a on which are mounted rollers |91-b that engage the forward wall of grooves |95-a and rotate the Geneva wheel |95.

A gear 203 is secured to the said driving wheel |91,by means of bolts 204, and is driven by means of a pinion 205 on the shaft 4|.

The bar |8| is moved, longitudinally in the sleeve |18, by means of a rocker lever 206 which is pivoted at 201 in a bracket 208, extending from the stud |89, at the side of the base 5. The said rocker lever 206 is rocked on its pivot by means of a cam 209 which rotates with the shaft 4| and engages a roller 210 extending from the end of said rocker lever. is threaded through said lever and engages the end of the slide bar |8| for moving the same against the action of a spring 2|2 which is po-l sitioned between the end of the sleeve |18 and the adjusting nuts 2|3 that are threaded to said bar.

My machine is particularly adapted for wrapping articles in wrappers of Cellophane or other similar material. ,Inl the use of said material, however, it is necessary to apply heat thereto so as to prevent the wrapper from unfolding. I, therefore, provide aheating element, in the form of a ring 2|4, having imbedded therein, and properly insulated therefrom, an electrical resistor 2I6 which is connected, by means of electrical conductors 2|6, to an electrical circuit that is controlled by a switch 2|6-a mounted on a bracket 2|6-b that is secured to the back of the shield 2|1. The said heating element is mounted in the shield 2|1 by means of screws 2I8 threaded to bosses 2|9 which support said heating element and space it from the shield so as to eliminate wastage of heat by conduction. The said heating element is mounted co-axially with the sleeve |18 so that the twister bars |14 may contact with the surface of said heating element in any circumferential position thereon and the shield 2|1 is provided with a base 220 by means of which it is secured to the top of the base5by bolts 22 y My machine is powered bars 223 secured. to the bottom of the base 5 and connected to drive the shaft 4| througha A hand wheel 226 is also provided upon the shaft 31 for rotating the shaft 4| when it is desired to operatethe machine by hand.

In the embodimentvillustrated, the said ma.'v chine is shown as used for 'wrapping such articles as lollipops which comprise a piece of confectionery 221 having a stick 228 Vextending therefrom to provide a handle. I

The various mechanisms of the machine are adjusted as follows, for the particular article that is to be wrapped therein.

The roll of web |2|, preferably of Cellophane material, is first mounted on the clamping device |21 in the bracket |20. The end of the web is then passed over the roll |24. down between the A set screw 2|| f by means of a suitable VAelectric motor 222 which may be supportedn rolls 81 and 92 and against a guide plate 229 which is mounted on a bar 230 and extends between the said rolls.

The said web is then pulled downwardly, to the position clearly shown in Figure 5, past the cutting edge of the blade |30. If necessary, the frame 82 may be adjusted, vertically on the post 84, to provide, below the cutting edge to the blade |30, whatever length of webbing may be required as a wrapper for the particular article to be wrapped.

The movable shearing blade |32 is then adjusted in proper position, with relation to the cutting edge of the blade |30, for cutting ofi' the length of web which depends below the said cutting edge and between the guide |2--e and the wrapping device which comprises the horn 1|.

When the machine is started in motion, by operating either of the handles 44-c or 44-b to throw the clutch collar 43 into engagement with the sprocket 42, the shaft 4I is set in continuous rotation and rotates, with it, the crank 88-a which will oscillate the bar 88 and thereby impart two-directional rotation to the collar 96. When the said collar is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 10, the clutch rollers |08 will engage the said collar with the clutch disc |02 and thereby rotate the shaft 83 which will, in turn, rotate the roll 82 and, through the gear teeth 85 and 8|, rotate the roll 81 on the sleeve 88. This rotation of the rolls will intermittently feed the proper length of web between the guide I2-e and the folding device.

The continuous rotation of the shaft 4| will, through the gears 40 and 30, and the shaft 31, continuously rotate the Geneva driving wheel 36. During the rotation of said driving wheel, the roller 23|, at the end of the extension 232, will engage the forward wall of a groove, 233 in the Geneva wheel 33, and rotate the said wheel for a distance of 90. After the said wheel has been rotated for this distance, the circumferential periphery 36-a of the wheel 36 will enter into the corresponding notch 234 and retain the said wheel against rotation until the roller 23| has again moved around to the position where it will engage the next groove 233; at which time the edge of the notch' 235 in the said driving wheel will have reached a position, relative to the edge of the wheel 33, wherein it will permit the said wheel y to be rotated for another distance of 90 and so on. Thus, from the illustration in Figure 14, it

will be clearly understood that for each rotation of the driving wheel 36, the Geneva wheel 33 will be rotated one quarter of a revolution and then locked in position against rotation until it is again so rotated.

The said Geneva wheel 33 will impart the one quarter rotations to the shaft I6 which, through the pinion I5, the gear I4, the shaft I3 and the sprocket I I, will move the conveyor belt 1 for the distance -of one'of the plates 8 thereon.

The shaft I6, by reason of the Geneva movement, will make one quarter of -a revolution for each complete revolution of the shaft 4I which rotates the crank 98-a through a complete cycle. Therefore, it will be clearly seen that the rolls 81 and 92 are rotated, to feed the proper length of web |26 to provide enough for a wrapper below the cutting edge of the knife |30, for each forward movement of the said conveyor belt.

Each one quarter revolution of the shaft I6 will also, through the gears 20 and 2|, rotate the turret plate I8 for one quarter of a. revolution; thus consecutively presenting the recesses |54, in the turret plate I8, in the front of the folding horn 1| for each movement of the belt 1.

For each step of movement applied to the cont veyor belt 1, the cam groove 61 will cause' the lever 65 to move the carriage 58, through the lever 63, the rocker shaft 60-a, the lever 60 and the link 62, and thereby move the pusher bar 53 forward. The cam groove 52 will operate the lever 41 causing the same, through the link 50, to slide the turret carriage I9 and thereby move the turret away from the folding horn for each rotation of the shaft 4| and movement of the conveyor belt 1.

The twister mechanism will operate as follows for each movementof the conveyor belt 1.

It will be understood that, for each-movement of the conveyor belt 1, the shaft 4| is rotated for one revolution which, through the pinion 205 on said shaft, will rotate the driving wheel |91 onehalf of a revolution. The said driving wheel will, therefore, rotate the Geneva wheel |95 one quarter of a revolution, or 90 for each revolu- ,tion of the shaft 4|, the said Geneva wheel will rotate the gear I92,the pinion I9I, the gear |68,

the pinion and thereby rotate the sleeve |18 l fora number of revolutions for each one quarter revolution of the said Geneva wheel |95. It will, therefore, be seen that the head |11 will be rotated a number of revolutions during one half of each of the revolutions of the shaft 4I and that the said head will remain stationary during the other half of said revolutions.

While the head |11 is stationary, the twister bars |14 will rest into heating contact with the heating element 2 I4, as clearly illustrated in Figure 5 of the drawings. Just about the timethat the head |11 begins its rotation, the said' bars will be moved towards each other, to the position illustrated in Figures 15 and 16, by means of the cam 209 which will release the lever 206 and permit the spring 2I2 to move the slide bar I8| and cause the teeth |82 thereon to rock the rocker bars |16 and move said twister bars towards each other to the position illustrated in Figure 16.

The'said twister bars |14 are separated from each other, and moved to engage the heating element 2|4, by means of the cam 208 which will rock the lever 206 so as to force the slide bar I8I inwardly, against the pressure of the spring y2|2, and rotate the rocker bars |16 in the opposite direction.

Assuming that the machine is properly adjusted for the particular article that is to be wrapped therein, such as a lollipop indicated at 201, the sequence of operation is as follows: A

The machine is rst set in motion by operation of one of the handles, 44-b or 44c,'to slide the collar 43 into engagement with the sprocket 42. This will cause rotation of the shaft 4| and. therethrough, of all the mechanism in the machine and the operator then places the lollipops on the plates 8 of the conveyor belt 1; gauging their position thereon by the guide bar |28.

During the operation of the machine, the driving wheel 36 will rotate the shaft I8 one quarter of a revolution for each revolution of the shaft 4|. This rotation of said shaft I6 will cause 'the conveyor belt 1 to be moved forwardly, one

step at a time, bringing the lollipops successively in position between the guide I2-d and the pusher rod 53. Before reaching said position, however, the handles 228 of the lollipops will engage the guide bar I2c which -will properly position said handles with relation to the said pusher rod. g

The cam groove 61 will then operate the lever 65 to rock the lever 00 and move the pusher carriage 56 forward; thus causing the pusher rod 53 to force the lollipop through the guide |2d, at which time, rotation of the crank -4, through the rack 90, will have rotated the web feeding rolls l1 and 92 and thus moved a predetermined length of said web below the edge of the cutting knife |20 as clearly illustrated in Figure 5. The lollipop 201 will now engage this portion of the web and move it forwardly into the entrance to the folding horn, 1|.

At this time the cam |52 will release the roll |5l, on the lever |46. and permit the spring |02 to pull on the link I 45. This will rock the lever |44 and the post |36; thus moving the edge of the blade |32 across the cutting edge of the blade |30, 'severing the said length of the web and thereby forming a wrapper blank therefrom.

Continuing the movement of the lollipop, by the pusher bar 53, will cause the said wrapper to be carried through the folding horn with the said lollipop. While it is being carried through said horn, the wrapper will be folded about the lollipop as clearly illustrated in Figures 18 to 27 and as will now be clearly described.

As shown in Figures 24 and 28, the blank is cut off as it is moved forwardly into the folding horn. It will be noted that the lollipop will engage the blank in a position leaving a longer portion at the bottom of the lollipop and a shorter portion at the top. As the movement of the lollipop is continued, the edges 16 of the shoe 14 will engage the wrapper and fold the top and bottom ends thereof across ,the front of the lollipop. The edges 11 will then force the top portion of the wrapper down and along the sides of the lollipop, as clearly shown at 236, Figure 28. As the 1said lollipop continues its movement through the horn 1|, the sides of the wrapper will ride upwardly on the folding edges 12 of the horn, causing the said edges to be turned downwardly over the shoe 14, as clearly illustrated in Figure 22, and to take the position illustrated in Figure 19. Further movement will fold the said side portions of the wrapper downwardly, into overlapping position upon the top of the lollipop, as clearly illustrated in Figures 22 and 20.

` The lollipop will now leave the said horn with the wrapper folded thereon, as shown in Figure 20, and enter into the recess |54, in the turret plate, which is in front of the folding horn. At this time the turret will be in the 'position illustrated'in Figure 6, and close to the end of the folding horn.

Just before the lollipop enters the said recess |54, the cam IGS-a will rock the lever |02-a, causing'it 'to rock the lever |00-b. The screw I 60-a will then lift the clamping plate ill, over said recess, -by means of the pin lll, so that the said clamp will not resist the entrance of the lollipop, and the wrapper thereover, into said recess;` thereby avoiding the possibility of the clamping plate disturbing the wrapper. As soon as the lollipop is in said recess. the cam IIS-a will cause the pin |00 to be released and permit the spring to force the clamping-plate in to engagement with thewrapper over the lollipop. The camV groove S2 will now operate the lever 41 which will, through the link Il, slide the turret carriage I0 and carry the turret plate Il away from the folding hornl to the position, illustratedd 81 will begin to operate the lever 05 in the opposite direction and start the return ofthe pusher rod to the position illustrated in Figure 5. At about the time the turret reaches the position indicated in Figure 7, the shaft I0 will again be rotated for one quarter turn by the operation of thev driving wheel 08v on the Geneva wheel 35. This will rotate the turret for a'distance of 90", in a clockwise direction, carrying the said lollipop to the next position. During the said rotation ofthe turret, the cam groove I2 will begin to return the lever 41 towards the position indicated in Figure 5 and move the turret back towards the position illustrated in Figure 6.

When the said turret reaches this position, the lollipop will be in alignment with the twister mechanism which will now operate to move the twister bars |14 into contact with the portion of the wrapper that overlaps the end of the lollipop, as clearly illustrated in Figure 16. The mechanism will now operate, as herein before described, to rotate said twister bars and thereby twist the end of the wrapper around the handle 228 ofthe lollipop, as clearly shown in Figures 6 and 16. The said bars, having been heated by the heating element 2|4, will seal the wrapper material around said handle and thereby prevent it from untwisting. While this is taking place, the next lollipop on the conveyor belt 1 will be pushed on to the turret.

After the twisting has been completed. the twister bars |14 will be Withdrawn from the lollipop and brought-into contact with the heating element 2|4. The turret will now again be moved to the position indicated in Figure 7, pulling with it another lollipop out of the folding horn. The turret will then again be rotated returned to its position adJacent the end of the folding horn, and so on.

When the turret has returned to the position illustrated in Figure 7, one of the lollipops, on which the wrapper has been twisted, will be brought into a position in alignment with, and over, the ejector chain |04, as clearly illustrated in Figure 6, and at the same time the pin |00 will ride over the end of the releasing screw |0|. This will cause said pin to be lifted and thereby raising the clamping Iplate I1!l and releasing the said lollipop. One ofthe ejector fingers |00 will then engage the end of said lollipop and elect it, from the turret, on to the table v|10 from which the lollipop will slide into a conwrapper is twisted to retain its 'proper position over the article and the wrapped article is then ejected from the machine.

While I have shown and described a machine which is particularly adapted for wrapping articles having a handle, such as confectionery lollipops, it is desired to have it understood that the said machine may also be used for wrapping articles of other shapes and sizes, and which vmayor may not have a handle attached thereto,

without departing from the scope of my invention, as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A wrapping machine comprising a folding device adapted to fold a wrapper over an ar'icle upon the movement of said article and wrapper therethrough; said folding device comprising a stationary horn in .said machine, a shoe, means on said shoe for folding a portion of sai-:i wrapper over said article and forcing the said wrapper downwardly along the sides of said article, and means on said horn for lifting the side portions of said wrapper and folding them down in overlapping position upon the top of said article.

2. In a wrapping machine of the character described, a base, means on an axis extending longitudinally to said base comprising a folding device, a pusher bar and a turret slidingly movable on said axis, means movable transversely to said axis for positioning articles thereon, a pair of feed rolls for feeding the end of a web across said axis, means for operating said pusher bar to move said article with a portion of said web thereover through said folding device and on to said turret, means for moving said turret to withdraw said article from said folding-device and then return the said turret adjacent thereto, means for rotating said turret during said movement to transfer said article to a different position in said machine, a twisting mechanism comprising movable bars adapted to be brought into contact with the wrapper on said article and twist the same to retain it thereon, and means for ejecting said article from said turret.

3. In a wrapping machine of the character described, a folding device, means for positioning an article to be wrapped in said machine in front of said folding device, means for presenting a wrapper between said article positioning means and said folding device and means for moving said article from said positioning means into said wrapper and continuing the'movement of said article with the wrapper thereover into said folding device and thereby partly wrapping said article within said wrapper; a turret mechanism comprising a plate having means for receiving said partly wrapped article, clamping means associated with said receiving means for retaining said article therein, means for operating said clamping means to render the same inoperative during the movement of said partly wrapped article into said receiving means and then releasing said clamping means to clamp said article in said turret, means for sliding said turret to withdraw said partly wrapped article from said folding means, mechanism for rotating said turret to transfer said article to a different position in said machine, and means operable in said position for twisting said wrapper to retain the same on said article and thereby completing the wrapping thereof. f 4. A wrapping machine of the character described comprising means for holding a wrapper on an article with a portion of said wrapper overfor applying a wrapper over an article to be' wrapped in said machine and means for positioning said article with the wrapper thereover;-

mechanism including a pair of oppositely movable bars adapted to engage said wrapper and twist a portion thereof to retain it on said article, a fixed ring-shaped heating element, means for moving the said bars into contact with said heating element, means for moving said bars from said heating element into contact with said wrapper and then returning the same to said heating element and means for revolving said bars while in contact, with said wrapper.

6. In a wrapping machine of the character described, a folding device for applying a wrapper to an article While moving therethrough in a certain direction and thereby partly. wrapping said article, a turret mechanism adapted to receive said partly wrapped article, means for moving said turret mechanism in said direction for withdrawing said partly wrapped article from said folding device, means for rotating said turret for transferring the said article to a different position in said machine, and mechanism for twisting the wrapper on said partly wrapped article and thereby completing the wrapping thereof.

7. A wrapping machine comprising a folding device, means for positioning an article to be Wrapped in said machine in front of said folding device, means for moving said article through said folding device, feed rolls for intermittently feeding the end of a web between said folding device and article, a cutting device associated with said feed rolls for cutting off a portion of said web and thereby providing a wrapper for said article, means for intermittently rotating said rolls, adjustable means for predetermining the length of said portion and means for adjusting said rolls and cutting device to predetermine the vertical position of said wrapper relative to said article.

8. In a wrapping machine of the character described comprising a folding device, a conveyor for moving an article to be wrapped in said` machine to a position in alignment with said folding device, means for positioning a wrapper before said article, a turret mechanism comprising` a plate adapted to receive said article with said wrapper thereover, a twisting device for twisting a portion of said wrapper to retain it on said article while said article is held in said plate and thereby completing the wrapping thereof, and means for ejecting said article from said machine; a driven shaft, means for driving said shaft, cam means on said driven shaft, a pusher mechanism operated by said cam means for pushing said article from said conveyor through said folding device on to said plate, separate cam means on said driven shaft for moving said turret away from said folding device, an operating shaft, means connecting said driven shaft with said operating shaft for intermittently rotating thelatter, means on said operating shaft for rotating said turret and moving said conveyor, means operable by said driven shaft for intermittently operating said twister device, an'dmeans operable by said driven shaft for operating the said ejector mechanism.

-9. A wrapping machine of vthe character described comprising a conveyor for moving articles to be wrapped in said machine, a stationary folding device, a turret for transferring said articles to different positions in said machine, means for placing a wrapper of sheet material between said article and said folding device, means for -means for placing a wrapper in front of said --folding device, means for pushing an article to be wrapped on said machineinto said wrapper and thereby moving said wrapper and article through said folding device, means in said folding device comprising a horn adapted to fold said wrapper against the bottom of said article, means comprisinga shoe extending within said horn for folding portion of said wrapper over said article, means on said shoe for forcing said blank along the edges of said article into overlapping position upon the portion of said wrapper which is folded under said article, and means in said horn for raising the overlapping side portions of said wrapper upwardly, over the sides of said article, and folding them downwardly into overlapping position upon the top of said article during the movement of said'article through said folding device. f

11. A wrapping machine as set forth in claim 10, including mechanism for engaging the wrapper on said article and twisting it, while the article is stationary, to retain the said wrapper on said article.

12. For a wrapping machine of the character described, a wrapper folding device adapted to fold a wrapper over an article Upon the movement of said article therethrough; said folding device including a stationary horn, a shoe member extending at least partly within said horn for causing a portion of said wrapper to be folded over said article, downwardly extending flanges on said shoe for causing the side portions of said wrapper to be forced downwardly along the sides of said article; the said horn being shaped to cause the said side portions of the wrapper to be lifted and then folded downwardly into overlapping position upon the top of said article durlng the movement of said article and wrapper thereover through said folding device.

13. A folding device adapted to fold a wrapper over an article while the said wrapper and article are moved through said device and comprising a stationary tapering horn, a shoe member located forwardly of said horn and projecting at least partly thereinto, supporting means exteriorly of said horn for supporting said shoe, depending anges at the sides of said shoe for causing the side portions of said wrapper to be forced downwardly along the sides of said article, and means within said horn comprising a surface tapering in the direction of the axis of said shoe for causing the said portions of said wrapper to be folded upwardly and downwardly into overlapping position upon said article during the movement of said wrapper and article through said folding device.

14. In a wrapping machine comprising means for applying a wrapper over an article, with a portion of said wrapper overlapping, a stationary ring-shaped heating element, wrapper twisting means adapted to engage with said heating element to be heated thereby, mechanism for moving said twisting means into and out of contact with said wrapper, and means for. rotating said twisting means for twistingthe said overlapping portion of the wrapper.

ANTON VAN VEEN. 

